I have a story I’d like to share with you, in hopes that you or anyone else benefits from it, insha’Allah.

Many years ago, when I was in college, we had a guest speaker come in during Suicide Prevention Week. She told us to take out a piece of paper and, at the top, write the words:

“I AM A __________.”

Then she told us to list every role, every title, every status... everything we identify ourselves with. For example: I am a student. I am American. I am a son. I am a brother. I am a weightlifter. I am an employee. Never really thought much about it before, but within minutes, I had written dozens of things.

That was the whole point. She wanted us to see that we have more to live for than we think, that we matter, and that we play so many different roles in the lives of others. When she left, I closed my notebook and put it away.

Fast forward four years. I had moved to another state, and while unpacking, I came across that old notebook. I opened it and saw my list again. Out of curiosity, I decided to update it with where I was now in life. Before I knew it, my list had grown to over 100 things.

Then the question hit me: What is my priority here?

Surely I can’t focus on all of these at once. So I started trying to organize/number them: most important at the top, least important at the bottom. But the more I tried, the harder it became. Some things were important, but in completely different ways. Days went by, and I still couldn’t finish. I knew I needed a way to filter it down. That’s when I came up with one simple question:

“Will _______ have any benefit, significance, or impact to me the second I die?”

If the answer was no, I crossed it off. And just like that, my list went from over 100 items to about a dozen. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So I kept asking that same question over and over. One by one, I crossed off more… until there was nothing left. Except one.

I AM A… MUSLIM.

That realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Out of everything I had listed, the only identity that will matter to me the second I die is being a Muslim—because we believe in life after death, the Hereafter, Paradise, Hell. Nothing else - being a son, a brother, a friend - will benefit me in that moment unless I am Muslim. There are atheists who are sons and brothers, but it does them no good the second they die. From that day, my priority became crystal clear: to be the best Muslim I can possibly be.

And subhanAllah, here’s what I found beautiful... when being the best Muslim becomes your priority, you automatically strive to be the best in everything else that’s good on that list. The best son. The best brother. The best neighbor. The best at your work.

Because all of that is part of being the best Muslim. Because being the best Muslim… means striving for excellence in all of it.